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Sky News Australia

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Sky News Australia
Logo used since 2019
TypeNews channel
CountryAustralia
Broadcast areaAustralia
New Zealand
HeadquartersMacquarie Park, New South Wales
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerNews Corp Australia
ParentAustralian News Channel
Sister channelsSky News Weather Channel
Sky News Extra
History
Launched19 February 1996; 28 years ago (1996-02-19)[1]
Links
Websiteskynews.com.au
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview (Australia)Channel 56 (Regional Victoria, Queensland and southern NSW)
Channel 53 (Regional South Australia, northern NSW and Griffith, NSW)
Foxtel (Australia)Channel 691
Channel 600 (HD)
Sky Television (New Zealand)Channel 85
Streaming media
Australia ChannelWatch live outside Australia
Flash NewsWatch live within Australia
Foxtel GOWatch live within Australia

Sky News Australia is an Australian conservative news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs featuring a line-up of conservative commentators.[2][3][4]

Sky News Australia is distributed on pay television in Australia and New Zealand, while a free-to-air version of the service, Sky News Regional (which features programming from Sky News Australia and Fox Sports News) is distributed on digital terrestrial television by Southern Cross Austereo and selected WIN Television stations. The channel also operates two spin-off services, Sky News Weather Channel, and public affairs service Sky News Extra (formerly A-PAC).

The channel was originally a joint venture between British broadcaster BSkyB (thus making it a spin-off of the Sky News channel in the United Kingdom), Seven Media Group, and Nine Entertainment Co., as Australian News Channel Pty Ltd. The company was acquired by News Corp Australia in 2016;[5] with the subsequent sale of Murdoch's remaining shares in Sky UK to Comcast,[6] Sky News Australia no longer has any direct ties to its UK counterpart, despite still using the Sky News brand.

Especially since the acquisition of the channel by News Corp Australia, Sky News Australia has faced scrutiny from the press over its increased focus on opinion programming. Comparisons were drawn to Rupert Murdoch's American news channel Fox News, and there have been accusations that the channel's opinion programming has promoted misinformation and untrue conspiracy theories.[7][8]

History

[edit]
Main article: Australian News Channel
Australian News Channel Pty Ltd logo

Sky News Channel's parent company, Australian News Channel (ANC), was owned equally by British Sky Broadcasting (now Sky Limited; which is now a division of Comcast), Seven Media Group and Nine Entertainment Co., each with a 33% stake in the company from its founding until December 2016, when it was acquired by News Corp Australia.[9]

Sky News Australia launched at 5 pm[10] on 19 February 1996, as the first Australian-produced television news channel. The channel aired its 50,000th unique newscast on 23 April 2003 at 11 am.[11] Sky News was added to Austar on 1 April 2000.[12]

In 2004, Sky News began broadcasting Sky News Active, its on-demand interactive TV news service.[1] In 2008, Sky News launched the Sky News Business Channel, and on 20 January 2009, Sky News launched Australian Public Affairs Channel (A-PAC). It began widescreen broadcasting on 17 May 2009.[13] Sky News Australia began broadcasting in high definition on 1 December 2015.[14][15] A fourth spin-off channel, Sky News Election Channel, was launched on 1 May 2016.[16]

2004's Sky News logo

In 2013, Sky News Australia was granted A$20 million in funding from its parent company to be used over three years.[17]

Logo as Sky News Live

In mid-2019, the channel began expanding its digital operations.[18] This included a content partnership with YouTube, Microsoft News, Facebook and Taboola.[19] That led to new, opinion-focused videos being uploaded more frequently and across News Corp platforms, after having previously not uploaded any videos from February 2017 to April 2019.[18]

Sky News Australia's online domain

In February 2018, Sky News Australia launched a digital-first brand and content platform called 2600. The online political newsletter is sent out daily with breaking news from Canberra.[20]

In November 2018, Sky News terminated the contract of former Liberal Party MP and late-night presenter Ross Cameron for using sinophobic language to describe Chinese people.[21]

In July 2024, it was reported that the network would relocate to the News Corp Australia headquarters in Surry Hills in 2025.[22] It was also reported that the network's license to the Sky News brand was expected to expire as early as late-2025, and that Sky Limited was not expected to renew the agreement due to the change in ownership and the divergence in Sky News UK and Sky News Australia's content. It was reported that News Corp were considering rebranding the network as either "Australian News Channel" or a name containing "Fox News" (derived from U.S. sister network owned by Fox Corporation) or "Talk" (coming from News UK brand Talkradio, which briefly operated a UK television service).[22]

Programming

[edit]
See also: List of programs broadcast by Sky News Australia

Sky News programming consists of a mix of live news bulletins, live broadcasts from events (such as Parliament Question Time and selected press conferences), original commentary panel programs and simulcasts of international sister station Sky News UK. Sky News has broadcast every sitting of Question Time from the House of Representatives since its launch in 1996.[23]

Sky News Australia increased its primetime programming offerings, particularly its political-themed shows, significantly in 2013, when it made more obvious its right-leaning ideology, ahead of the 2013 federal election, cancelling almost entirely the slot's rolling news block News Night.[17] It would then regain most of its runtime in 2014. Sky News Australia rebranded itself on 19 January 2015 as "Sky News Live", dropping the "Sky News National" branding.[24]

On weekdays, throughout most of the day, rolling news coverage is presented from one of Sky News Australia's studios. From 5 pm (AEST/AEDT), commentary programs begin, and continue through primetime until 11 pm AEST/AEDT. Most of these programs are presented by conservative commentators discussing the news of the day, often with a panel of other commentators, and feature a news update at the beginning of the program (and sometimes further updates during the program). Rolling news continues from 11 pm AEST/AEDT before coverage switches to an overnight simulcast of Sky News UK at 1 am AEST/AEDT.

In 2007, Sky News aired local breakaway programming for New Zealand viewers in primetime, filmed at Prime NZ's Auckland studios. One of these programs, Prime News – First at 5:30, was also simulcast to Australian viewers.[25] The debut of Sky News NZ Evening News was watched by just 1,500 viewers and panned by critics.[26] As of 2015, no local New Zealand programs are produced or broadcast following the loss of a production contract with Prime NZ.[27] However the channel debuted New Zealand Agenda on 16 June 2018, hosted by New Zealand bureau chief James O'Doherty from Wellington, New Zealand, focusing on NZ politics.[28]

Current programs

[edit]
Daytime

Nighttime

  • Credlin with Peta Credlin (Monday to Friday)
  • The Bolt Report with Andrew Bolt (Monday to Thursday)[29][30]
  • Erin with Erin Molan (Fridays)
  • The Sunday Showdown (Sundays)
  • The US Report with James Morrow (Fridays)
  • The Media Show with Jack Houghton (Fridays)
  • Chris Kenny Tonight with Chris Kenny (Monday to Thursday)
  • Paul Murray Live with Paul Murray (Sunday to Thursday)
  • The U.S Report with James Morrow (Fridays)
  • The Rita Panahi Show with Rita Panahi (Fridays)
  • The Late Debate with James Macpherson, Liz Storer and Caleb Bond (Monday to Thursday)
  • The Late Debate: The Papers with James Macpherson, Liz Storer and Caleb Bond (Monday to Thursday)
  • NewsNight (Monday to Sunday)

Presenters and reporters

[edit]
Sky News Australia broadcast equipment
Kieran Gilbert, reporting from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra

News presenters

[edit]

Program presenters

[edit]

Reporters

[edit]
  • Kenny Heatley, Julia Bradley, Fiona Willan, Caroline Marcus and Brent O’Halloran – Sydney
  • Holly Edwards-Smith, Georgia Simpson, Holly Stearnes and Simon Love – Melbourne
  • Trudy McIntosh, Olivia Caisley and Cameron Reddin – Canberra
  • Kaiser Shields and Harry Clarke – Brisbane
  • Lauren Forbes - Gold Coast
  • Monique Van Der Hayden - Adelaide
  • Crystal Wu - Perth
  • Matt Cunningham – Darwin
  • Jack Nyhof – Wellington, New Zealand
  • Staś Butler – Taipei, Taiwan
  • Annelise Nielsen – Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Senior reporter

[edit]

Former presenters and reporters

[edit]

Bureaus

[edit]
The Sky News Melbourne bureau is within the Foxtel headquarters in Southbank, Victoria.

Sky News Australia has a bureau in every capital city in Australia, completing this with the opening of its Hobart studio in 2013.[17] In 2016, it opened a bureau in Cairns, making it the first non-capital city bureau.[41] In 2017, a Gold Coast bureau was opened marking the third non-capital city studio after Cairns and Geelong.[42]

The base of Sky News Australia is in the Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park, from which the majority of its news and programming is broadcast. Its Melbourne studio was upgraded in 2014, allowing it to be used as a secondary broadcast studio.[43] Hinch Live became the first regular program to be broadcast from Melbourne.[44]

The third major bureau is in Parliament House, Canberra, opened in 2000.[23] Lyndal Curtis became Bureau Chief of in October 2015.[45] Additionally, Sky News has a small office in the Channel Seven building in Martin Place, which includes a small street-level single camera studio which looks onto Elizabeth Street, Sydney.[46]

Internationally, Sky News's only foreign bureau is in Wellington, New Zealand, opened in 2015.[47][48]

Resources

[edit]

Apart from its own resources, at launch Sky News Australia used the news resources of its former parent companies Seven News, Nine News and Sky News UK, as well as sister networks Sky News UK and Fox News Channel. ABC America and CBS were founding international partners of Sky News Australia.[49]

In 2010 it had agreements with CCTV China, ABC America, CBS, Reuters, APTN, Bloomberg, Dow Jones and Newshub, when it signed a four-year partnership deal with CNN International, commencing on 1 January 2011.[50]

Content

[edit]

In 2017, Denis Muller, a senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne's Centre for Advancing Journalism, described the channel as having a "split personality," running straight news bulletins and reporting during the day with professional and independent journalists and presenters, while moving towards "right-leaning punditry" in prime time.[4]

In February 2021, Muller, commenting on former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's statement that Sky News was following a pattern laid down by Fox News, described the nighttime programming of Sky News as including "the unconstrained peddling of extreme right-wing propaganda, lies, disinformation, crude distortion of fact and baseless assertions."[7]

Political alignment and views

[edit]
This article is part of a series on
Conservatism in Australia
Ideologies
Principles
Intellectuals
Jurists
Commentators
Politicians
Parties
Active

Defunct

Organisations
Active

Defunct

Think tanks
Media
Related topics

Sky News Australia has an editorial policy that follows a conservative, right-wing bias. Coverage is frequently critical of Australia's main progressive political parties, Labor and the Greens, while being supportive of right-wing parties such as the Liberal-National Coalition and One Nation.[2][3] Presenter Paul Murray has stated that "Sky News at night is a Liberal echo chamber".[51] Drawing a strong comparison to Fox News, the network began moving towards panel-based programming from 2010, with most of its highest profile prime time commentators being conservative.[52][53] Hosts Andrew Bolt and Paul Murray have been compared to Fox News presenters Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity respectively.[4]

As many of the channel's primetime contributors are conservatives - many with clear career links to the Liberal Party - the Australian Labor Party and its figureheads Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Western Australian premier Mark McGowan are frequently critiqued whilst the policies of the Liberal Party and its coalition partner the Nationals are often endorsed and promoted. During the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in the year 2020, some Sky News commentators referred to Andrews as a 'dictator'[54] and a 'chairman',[55] drawing a comparison to socialist and communist regimes when criticising Andrews' frequent use of pandemic lockdowns and public health orders.

Sky News Australia has been a frequent critic of US President Joe Biden ever since he took office on 20 January 2021. Some commentators such as Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones have frequently spread claims about Biden's mental health, claiming it was declining, that Biden is unfit to be the President and suggesting he was suffering from dementia.[56][57]

Misinformation and conspiracy theories

[edit]

On 13 December 2020, Rowan Dean promoted the Great Reset conspiracy theory on Sky News Australia, claiming that "This Great Reset is as serious and dangerous a threat to our prosperity – to your prosperity and your freedom – as we have faced in decades".[8]

As of February 2021, American far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones uses segments from Sky News Australia to back up his claims.[8]

In July 2021, Alan Jones and Craig Kelly falsely claimed that United Kingdom data proved that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 would increase the likelihood of death due to COVID-19. The claim originated in The Daily Exposé, a British website known for promoting COVID-19 and anti-vaccine misinformation.[58] The Daily Exposé's claim was debunked by the BBC, Full Fact and Reuters.[59][60][61] Sky News Australia subsequently removed the broadcast and issued a correction on its website.[58]

On 1 August 2021, YouTube barred Sky News Australia from uploading new content onto their channel for a week for breaking YouTube's rules on posting videos containing COVID-19 misinformation.[62] Upon the channel's return to the platform, Sky News Australia published a piece titled "Uncancelled: Sky News Australia Set Free" wherein Digital Editor Jack Houghton claimed the channel's temporary banning was the result of Silicon Valley and left-wing media attempting to stifle free speech.[63]

A 2022 analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a British think tank, found that Sky News Australia was a major source for climate change misinformation. Sky News Australia rejected the findings of the analysis, saying that they would "continue to encourage debate" on climate change.[64] In 2022, Sky News Australia promoted a now retracted journal article from the European Physical Journal that claimed to have found no evidence of climate change in two video segments. The two segments were viewed more than 500 000 times.[65][66][67]

Reception

[edit]

Ratings

[edit]

The highest rating broadcast on Sky News Australia was an episode of Paul Murray Live on 26 June 2013 (following the 2013 Labor leadership spill), averaging 197,000 viewers across a special two-hour broadcast. The highest audience share Sky News Australia has achieved was during coverage of the 2009 Victorian bushfires.[68]

On 15 December 2014 during the Sydney Lindt café siege, coverage of the unfolding incident took 16 of the 20 most watched programs on the Foxtel platform. The 7 pm (AEST) hour was the highest rated at 109,000 viewers.[69] Sky News achieved a day time share of 2.6% (behind ABC News 24's 3.8%) and a primetime share of 1.5% (behind ABC News 24's 2.5%).[70]

Sky News Live rated 56,000 viewers for early evening coverage of the 2015 Queensland state election, and 83,000 viewers for later coverage, beaten by ABC News 24's coverage which was watched by 195,000 viewers nationally.[71] For its coverage of the failed Liberal leadership spill on 9 February 2015 between 9 am and 10 am, Sky News Live was the second most watched subscription channel and the coverage was the third most watched program of the day with 69,000 viewers.[72]

Sky News Live reached a total audience of 700,000 viewers on 14 September 2015 (including simulcast on Sky News Business) during the 2015 Liberal leadership spill. It was the most watched subscription television channel for the evening and outrated all free-to-air television channels between 11 pm and midnight AEST.[73] The highest rated hour of coverage was from 10pm, achieving 190,000 viewers, the second highest ratings since the 2013 Labor Party spill.[74][75]

A March 2016 article in The Guardian Australia reported Sky News averages 12,000 national viewers between 6 pm and midnight, with a peak of 18,000 between 8 pm and 10 pm, although the report did not specify what days or dates this average refers to.[76]

During the 2016 federal election, Sky News averaged 96,000 viewers, an increase of 46% from the 2013 election.[77]

In July 2018, Sky News claimed to have achieved its highest ratings on record, with viewership up 9% overall and its weeknight primetime (6pm–11pm) viewership 25% higher on the same period last year, according to OzTAM figures.[78][79]

In August 2018, coverage of the Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill, 2018 saw Sky News gain its highest Tuesday primetime audience ever with a 4.2% audience share. Speers, Credlin and Jones & Co all had their highest-rated episodes on record.[80]

Criticism

[edit]

In August 2018, Sky News was heavily criticised for providing a platform to Blair Cottrell, leader of the far-right, Neo-Nazi organisation United Patriots Front in a one-to-one discussion about immigration on The Adam Giles Show. Sky News presenter Laura Jayes and ABC journalist David Speers were among those critical (both on-air and off-air) of his appearance on the programme due to the fact that he has expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and claimed to have manipulated women "using violence and terror."[81][82] Sky News commentator and former Labor Party minister Craig Emerson resigned in protest after the interview was broadcast, stating that "My father fought Nazis in WWII and was interred in a German POW camp", and that the decision to give Cottrell a platform on Sky News was "another step in a journey to normalising racism & bigotry in our country".[81] The activist group Sleeping Giants Oz called on advertisers to pull advertising campaigns off Sky News in the wake of the channel's interview with Cottrell.[83][84]

Several high-profile figures have criticised Sky News, including former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who told a media inquiry in February 2021 that it was following the "template" of Fox News in becoming a "legitimising echo-chamber for this increasingly far-right, extremist worldview".[85] In December 2023, former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, who was a frequent target of scorn from Sky News pundits during his premiership, referred to the channel's after dark coverage as "bullshit" and "the worst of American politics imported into ours".[86]

Accolades

[edit]
List of accolades
Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result
2007 2007 ASTRA Awards Most outstanding performance by a presenter David Speers Won
Most Creative Use of Technology Anytime, Anywhere Nominated
2008 Logie Awards of 2008 Most Outstanding News Coverage Federal Election Nominated
2008 ASTRA Awards Most outstanding performance by a presenter David Speers Won
Most outstanding performance by a broadcast journalist Kieran Gilbert Won
Mike Willesee Nominated
Most outstanding performance by a presenter Hellen Dalley Nominated
Channel of the year Sky News Australia Nominated
Favourite male personality James Bracey Nominated
David Speers Nominated
Favourite female personality Helen Dalley Nominated
Brooke Corte Nominated
Most Outstanding News Program or Coverage APEC 2007 Won
2009 2009 ASTRA Awards Most Outstanding Performance by a Broadcast Journalist David Speers Won
Favourite male personality Kieran Gilbert Nominated
2010 Logie Awards of 2010 Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report Liberal Leadership Meltdown Nominated
2010 ASTRA Awards Most Outstanding Performance by a Broadcast Journalist Kieran Gilbert Won
2011 Logie Awards of 2011 Most Outstanding News Coverage Election 2010 Nominated
2011 ASTRA Awards Most Outstanding Performance by a Broadcast Journalist Ashleigh Gillon Won
Most Outstanding Performance by a Presenter David Speers Won
Most Outstanding News Program or Coverage Election 2010 Won
2012 Logie Awards of 2012 Most Outstanding News Coverage Qantas Grounded Nominated
2012 ASTRA Awards Most Outstanding Performance by a Presenter David Speers Won
2013 Logie Awards of 2013 Most Outstanding News Coverage Rudd Vs Gillard Leadership Challenge Nominated
2013 ASTRA Awards Most Outstanding Performance by a Broadcast Journalist Ahron Young Won
Favourite personality – male Paul Murray Nominated
Favourite Programme Australian Paul Murray Live Nominated
2014 Logie Awards of 2014 Most Outstanding News Coverage Leadership Spill Nominated
2014 ASTRA Awards Channel of the year Sky News National Nominated
Favourite personality – male Paul Murray Nominated
Favourite personality – female Laura Jayes Nominated
Favourite program: Australian Paul Murray Live Nominated
Most Outstanding News Program Election 2013 coverage Won
Paul Murray Live Nominated
Most Outstanding performance by a broadcast journalist Kieran Gilbert Nominated
Ahron Young Nominated
Daniel Bourchier Nominated
David Speers Won
2015 Logie Awards of 2015 Most Outstanding News Coverage What Is Metadata? Nominated
2015 ASTRA Awards[87] Channel of the year Sky News National Won
Most Outstanding Presenter – Male Paul Murray Won
Most Outstanding Presenter – Female Nina Stevens Nominated
Most Outstanding Performance by a Broadcast Journalist David Speers Won
Kieran Gilbert Nominated
Celina Edmonds Nominated
Ahron Young Nominated
Most Outstanding News Program Paul Murray Live Won
PM Agenda Nominated
Richo + Jones Nominated
2016 Logie Awards of 2016 Most Outstanding News Coverage[88] Liberal Leadership Crisis: Abbott V Turnbull Nominated
ASTRA Industry Awards Most Outstanding Innovation (use of technology)[89] LiveU SmartGRIP Nominated
Walkley Awards Coverage of a Major News Event or Issue[90] 2016 Election coverage Won
6th AACTA Awards Subscription Television Award For Best Live Event Production[91] 2016 Election Coverage Nominated
Subscription Television Award For Best Male Presenter[91] David Speers Nominated
2017 Logie Awards of 2017 Most Outstanding News Coverage[92] 2016 Election coverage Won
2021 Kennedy Awards Journalist of the Year[93] Sharri Markson Nominated
Outstanding TV News Reporting[93] Kieran Gilbert and Andrew Clennell Nominated
Outstanding Nightly Current Affairs[93] Sharri Markson Won
Outstanding Long Form Current Affairs[93] Peta Credlin Won
2023 NT Media Awards NT Journalist of the Year[94] Matt Cunningham Won
Best News Coverage x 2[94] Matt Cunningham Won
Best Current Affairs or Feature[94] Matt Cunningham Won
Best Crime / Court Reporting[94] Matt Cunningham Won
Kennedy Awards The Paul Lockyer Award for Regional Broadcast Reporting[95] Matt Cunningham Won
Queensland Clarion Awards Broadcast Report[96] Jonathan Lea Won

Broadcast

[edit]

Sky News began broadcasting in widescreen, along with its sister channels on 17 May 2009.[13] Sky News Australia only provides closed captioning between 4 pm and 5 pm (AEST/AEDT) each day.[97]

Sky News began broadcasting in high definition on 1 December 2015.[14]

Other services

[edit]

Sky News Multiview

[edit]

With the roll-out of Foxtel Digital, Sky News Australia launched the Sky News Active interactive news service based on the Sky News UK service with the same name. The service offered a choice of eight news screens, some with original content not seen on the main channel they vary depending on the days news or events and include the latest news, business, sport, showbiz and weather in text. Other features included interactive polling and the latest news headlines via text. On 15 November 2009 Sky News active re-launched with a new look as well as 5 additional local screens (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.[98]

Sky News Now (mobile service)

[edit]

Sky News Now was a mobile service available on Vodafone, Telstra and 3. It offered a wide variety of news in both video and text.[99] As of 2015, the service was no longer available.

Sky News Alerts

[edit]

Sky News Alerts is a SMS and MMS breaking news service available on all mobile phones inside Australia.[100] Breaking news alerts are sent to a subscriber via SMS or MMS at a cost per message.[101]

Qantas

[edit]

In November 2014, Sky News Australia was contracted to provide Qantas with in-flight news bulletins replacing a longstanding contract with the Nine Network.[102]

Radio and Podcasting

[edit]

In Australia, since June 2023, Sky News partners with Nova Entertainment to offer an audio simulcast of its television channel via the free Nova Player app (nationally) and DAB+ digital radio (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane only). Various programs podcasts including First Business, Market Day, Showbiz, Agenda, Australian News Week, Credlin and The Rita Panahi Show are also available on the app.[103] Previously, it was on IHeartRadio from March 2020 until June 2023, as part of a deal with ARN.[104]

Sky News Regional

[edit]
Sky News Regional
CountryAustralia
Broadcast areaRegional QLD, Northern NSW & Gold Coast, Southern NSW & ACT, Griffith, Broken Hill, Regional VIC, Mildura, Eastern SA and Spencer Gulf
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format576i SDTV
Ownership
OwnerAustralian News Channel
(News Corp Australia)
Sister channelsSky News Australia
Sky News Weather Channel
Sky News Extra
History
Launched2 September 2018; 6 years ago (2018-09-02)
ReplacedAspire TV (in SCA areas)
Replaced by9Life (in most WIN areas)
Former namesSky News on WIN (2018-2021)
Links
Websiteskynews.com.au/regional
Availability
Terrestrial
SCAChannel 56
WIN TelevisionChannel 53 (Gold Coast QLD)
(Northern NSW)
(Griffith NSW/Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area)
(Mount Gambier SA/Riverland)
Launch logo as Sky News on WIN

Sky News Regional (formerly Sky News on WIN) is a free-to-air version of Sky News Australia, which was launched on 2 September 2018. The channel features Sky News Australia and Fox Sports News programming, as well as the morning newscast Sky News Breakfast commissioned for this channel that also airs on Sky News Weather.[105][106] The channel was originally established as part of a partnership with WIN Television.[107][108] In 2021, WIN's contracts with both Network 10 and Sky News expired; with WIN returning to its previous Nine Network affiliation on 1 July 2021, and Sky News's contract expiring on 1 August 2021 (the allotments were, in turn, used for 9Life).[108] Sky News reached a new agreement with Southern Cross Austereo to distribute the channel on their now Network 10-affiliated stations, now known as Sky News Regional.[108][107]

In its first two weeks on the air, the channel averaged 10,000 viewers in primetime and 4,000 viewers in daytime, with Richo the highest rated program at 24,000 viewers.[109]

The channel is available on digital channel 56 across Southern Cross Austereo's regional markets in Regional QLD, Southern NSW & ACT and Regional VIC, and on WIN digital channel 53 in Northern NSW and the Gold Coast.[110] It is not available in Broken Hill/Spencer Gulf, Tasmania, Mildura, Darwin, Remote & Central Australia and Regional WA. Mildura, Tasmania, and Regional Western Australia previously broadcast the channel as Sky News on WIN on the WIN network until August 2021 when it switched to 9Life's feed. The channel was previously on WIN digital channels 83 and 85, prior to the rebrand as Sky News Regional on 1 August 2021.

Sky News Regional ended its broadcast on channel 53 in Griffith and South-East South Australia on 30 June 2024 after an unsuccessful renewal of the affiliation agreement with WIN.[111][112]

Sky News Now (TV channel)

[edit]

Linear channel Sky News Now launched on the Samsung TV Plus platform in Australia on 23 March 2023.[113][114]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "About Sky News". Sky News Australia. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b Lallo, Michael (27 May 2019). "Sky's jump to the right has boosted ratings – but at what cost?". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. ^ a b "Dark side of Sky After Dark: Anti-Labor comments seven times more likely". The New Daily. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2021. In News you have a very politically motivated news outlet –online, print, free to air and subscription. All of this is building a very strong right-wing media. It is an appalling vision of the future.
  4. ^ a b c Muller, Denis (15 February 2017). "Sky News is not yet Fox News, but it has the good, the bad and the uglies". The Conversation. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  5. ^ Pannett, Rachel (2 August 2021). "Sky News Australia temporarily suspended from YouTube for allegedly spreading coronavirus misinformation". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 August 2021. The Murdoch family took full control of Sky News Australia in 2016, through the local arm of News Corp.
  6. ^ "Rupert Murdoch's Sky reign to end as Fox sells all shares to Comcast". The Guardian. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b Muller, Denis (21 February 2021). "Is Sky News shifting Australian politics to the right? Not yet, but there is cause for alarm". The Conversation. The Conversation. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Davies, Anne (23 February 2021). "Sky News Australia is tapping into the global conspiracy set – and it's paying off". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  9. ^ "News Corp buys Sky News in Australia and New Zealand from Seven and Nine". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Sky News Australia first ever broadcast anniversary". Sky News Australia. 19 February 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2016 – via YouTube.
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  12. ^ "News on the Hour". Illawarra Mercury. Illawarra, Australia. 17 March 2000. p. 55. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2010 – via Fairfax NewsStore.
  13. ^ a b "Sky News to broadcast in widescreen - Australian-Media.com.au News". Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  14. ^ a b Jenny @Foxtel Community (1 December 2015). "Sky News Live Ch601 is going HD – Page 3". Foxtel Community. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Sky News Business switches on HD – January 19 2016". Foxtel. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Sky News Election Channel: Foxtel and Sky's new destination for politics junkies". Mediaweek. 26 April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  17. ^ a b c Davidson, Darren (28 January 2013). "Sky widens coverage as investors rain cash". The Australian. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
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  19. ^ Blackiston, Hannah (5 August 2019). "Sky News partners with YouTube, Microsoft News, Facebook and Taboola on content distribution deals". Mumbrella. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  20. ^ "Sky News Launches New Digital Content Platform". B&T. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  21. ^ Remeikis, Amy (2 November 2018). "Ross Cameron sacked from Sky News after racist comments about Chinese people". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  22. ^ a b "Fox News Australia? Sky News Australia may be forced to rebrand". Australian Financial Review. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Submission by Australian News Channel Pty Ltd – Media Coverage of Parliamentary Proceedings" (PDF). Australian News Channel. June 2004. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  24. ^ "SKY NEWS LIVE and ready in 2015". 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  25. ^ "Sky News NZ Evening News to launch Monday 12 March 2007". Throng. 9 March 2007. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  26. ^ McKenzie, Martha (17 March 2007). "Sky only a blip on news horizon". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  27. ^ "Prime News production moves to NZ". stuff.co.nz. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  28. ^ O'Doherty, James (15 June 2018). "The politics of a baby bump: Ardern's six-week maternity leave". The Australian. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  29. ^ Meade, Amanda (21 March 2016). "The Bolt Report to be resurrected on Sky News five nights a week". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
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